Here’s the question, do the potential of winning on Ten through Ace rather than Jack through Ace give you enough of an advantage to make Tens or Better worth playing at a 6/5 payout. I’m playing at Villento Las Vegas casino on line which helpfully reminds me which are the best cards to hold. I can always change the default holds to something else, but when playing a new game or switching from Jacks or Better to Tens or Better, it’s nice to have the reminder to look for tens. Though I don’t want to become complacent because sometimes it chooses a more obvious pick over something that might be a potential royal flush. And the game in Tens or Better video poker is still to chase after that Royal.
First my impression just based on play without going to research the statistics on the game. I may be winning more often because of the extra 10 possibility, but I’m running lower in money wins than I do at a full pay Jacks or Better game. The reason for this is that while a pair of tens is a winning hand, it only pays out at 1 to 1. So those tens keep you from losing money on a hand but they don’t actually win you more money. If you based this game on the payout chart for a full pay Jacks or Better game, you would truly have a game for the player not the house. Which is why the payout table isn’t the same as a full pay 9/6 table. The house needs to make money somewhere. They do it by lowering the payout for the higher paying hands such as a Full House and a Flush. Those are the hands that don’t just keep you from losing money but bring you up in the winnings. With this game, I’m hitting them enough to hover just below or at my starting point. But there isn’t enough of a boost to push me over my starting point.
Now, checking the statistics on this shows me that I’m playing a game with a .991 return. This puts it just below a full pay Jacks or Better game. But actually makes it a better game than a 9/5 or 8/6 Jacks or Better game. So, overall, not a bad game to play. And actually if you’re in a real world casino and the full pay Jacks or Better machines are taken, this would be a better choice than a lower paying Jacks or Better game. Just remember to watch for the tens.
